These Ramadan foam lanterns are a great craft for children ages 3+. The craft is easy to set up and kids will have a ton of fun customizing their own purple and yellow lanterns for Ramadan! Whether you do this craft at home or in a classroom (for educators looking to teach about different holidays) this craft is sure to be a hit with the kids.
For Younger Children
Depending on the age of the children you’re working with, you might want to prep the craft before having the kids join in. For small children, I recommend cutting the foam lantern shape in advance and hot gluing the pipe cleaner handle in place as well. (Having the handle on there will help small children easily visualize the lantern.)
I also recommend cutting the window pane shape in advance for small children; cutting out strips of ribbon in advance is also helpful for small kids but not necessary as you might want them to practice their scissor skills.
For Older Children
Older children might like to do the craft by themselves from start to finish and may even like to add special touches like glitter glue to customize their lanterns.
For decorating, I wanted the craft to be inviting so I laid out foam sticker shapes and ribbon in a compartmentalized tray. The pack of foam stickers was multicoloured but I sorted out the purple, yellow, blue and pink shapes and placed them in individual compartments on the tray. (More on the significance of why these particulars colours are being used for Ramadan here.) In the centre of the tray, I placed glue, scissors and three different types of ribbon (purple, yellow and white.)
Craft on the Go
This craft can also be taken to go – for example take it with you to the mosque to keep kids busy during taraweeh prayers. Instead of a tray, stick the lantern template, window pane shape, foam stickers, ribbon and glue dots into a ziplock bag. (Glue dots will be a lot less messy than regular white glue when taking this craft on the go.) Kids can easily keep busy by decorating the lantern with all the materials in their ziplock bag.
Materials
- Sheet of purple foam
- Sheet of yellow foam
- Pack of foam sticker shapes (be sure the pack has purple and yellow shapes. I purchased mine at Michael’s but similar packs can be purchased online as well.)
- Pipe cleaners, purple and yellow
- Ribbon, assorted types (I used purple and yellow satin ribbon with white ric rac ribbon)
- Scissors
- White glue
- Hot glue
Steps
Download my free lantern template. Print and cut out.
Trace the template onto the foam sheets. Cut out the lantern shape and the window pane shape. (You can also cut out a simple rectangle for the window pane if desired).
Next, cut a portion of the pipecleaner and bend it into an arch shape. Hot glue this to the back of your foam lantern shape. This will be the handle.
Have children glue on the window panes to the lanterns and then decorate the lanterns with the foam sticker shapes and ribbon, customizing however they like!
*Please note all of Hello Holy Days! free templates are for personal or educational use. The template nor this craft should not be made or adapted for commercial purposes.
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